1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to protective guards secured to chain link or wire mesh fences and, more particularly, to an edging and vegetation guard assembly which includes a number of elongate first and second base members having a vertical front wall and a generally rectangular upper portion that are installed in opposed relation at the bottom of a chain link or wire mesh fence and filled with an insulating foam material, for preventing a mower or line of an edger from striking the fence when mowing or edging adjacent to it and inhibiting the undesirable growth of vegetation below the bottom of the fence and between the open spaces adjacent to the bottom of the fence.
2. Background Art
A common problem with chain link and wire mesh fences is that it is extremely difficult to mow or trim the grass, weeds and vegetation below and closely adjacent to the bottom of the fence, and the line of an edger often gets wound around the wires of the fence or broken when striking the fence. Another common problem is that grass, weeds and vegetation tend to grow below the bottom of the fence and between the open spaces adjacent to the bottom of the fence.
There are many patents that disclose L-shaped, or U-shaped, guards and vegetation barriers that connect together on each side of the fence using various types of connectors. The following are several examples.
Niemann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,624 discloses a fence guard for restricting the growth of grass, weeds and the like directly adjacent to or beneath a fence and for preventing a mower from striking the fence when mowing directly adjacent to it. The fence guard is a length of material which is L-shaped in cross-section which is abutted against one or both sides of the fence and may be affixed together to secure them against displacement.
Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,472, discloses a vegetation blocking fence edging assembly which includes a fence structure, a plurality of elongated edging strips, and a plurality of fence post edging structures. The fence structure includes a plurality of mounting posts between which a fencing medium extends. The edging strip has U-shaped slots at its longitudinal ends which are adapted to be received around the fence mounting posts. The edging strip includes a longitudinally extending, generally J-shaped portion made up of a U-shaped portion for receiving the lower edge of the fence medium and a single guide edge for engaging one face of the fence. Flanges extend from either side of the J-shaped portion at a downward angle to contact the ground. The flange portions are resilient plastic and bias the J-shaped portion and the U-shaped portion toward engagement with the fence lower edge. The fence post edging structure has a post engaging surface which is slightly smaller than the peripheral surface of the fence post such that it biases itself into firm engagement with the fence post periphery.
Groves, U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,349, discloses an integral fence associated vegetation barrier for eliminating growth of grass, or the like, having a base member, an integrally and upwardly extending leg arranged approximately centrally, or slightly off center thereof, projecting up a sufficient distance to allow for its tying to the bottom of any fence, incorporating a series of apertures therein to facilitate the tying of the barrier to the bottom of the fence, and also having a plurality of spatially arranged drainage openings to facilitate the flow of rain or water therethrough.
Cobler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,388, discloses a fence guard which utilizes first and second L-shaped panel members having vertical and horizontal leg members. The vertical leg of each panel is positioned on opposed sides of a chain-link fence with the bottom edge of the fence being positioned in a channel defined therebetween. Prior to connection of the first panel to the second panel by means of nuts, bolts, clips etc., a strip of batt insulation is placed between the bottom edge of the fence and the vertical leg of one of the panel members. Upon connection of the panels, the insulation is compressed between the panel and the fences to urge the insulation material through the open portions/interstices of the adjacent fence for contact with the interior face of the vertical leg of the opposed panel. The insulation material fills the resulting channel to preclude entry of moisture and/or sunlight on the ground beneath the fence line to inhibit the undesirable growth of vegetation between the panels and below the fence line.
Fisk, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,783, discloses a chain link fence lower edging strip which comprises an extruded flat strip of plastic having a pair of centrally molded parallel grooves that form pre-creased hinges allowing the extruded strip to be placed under a lower edge of a chain link fence and then folded upwardly into a U-shaped configuration. The outer top edges of the folded plastic strip are continuous molded fasteners that lockingly engage to a plurality of connectors passing through the openings in wire mesh of the chain link fence.
Grubba, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,458, discloses two embodiments of fence bottom shields that prevent grass and weeds from growing up through the links or low openings in a fence. The first embodiment comprises a first strip and a second strip whose bottoms are integrally connected. Two end tabs are attached to one end of the first strip and the second strip, and a tab receiving slot is defined by the opposing end of the first strip and the second strip. A plurality of screw holes are defined by holes in the end tabs and the sidewalls of the first strip and second strip. Two fence bottom shields can be joined by inserting the end tab into the tab receiving slot and inserting two screws into the screw holes. The second embodiment comprises a first strip connected to a second strip by a bottom tab inserted into a bottom slot that is secured by a bolt and nut. Two end tabs are attached to one end of the first strip and the second strip, and a tab receiving slot is defined by the opposing end of the first strip and the second strip. Two fence bottom shields can be joined by snapping together the end tabs and the tab receiving slot. In both embodiments, a fence slot is defined by the sidewalls of the first strip and second strip.
Petrozziello, U.S. Pat. No. 7,118,096, discloses a combination a fence and a protective guard. The fence has vertical posts with upper ends and at least one top support bar extending between the vertical posts. The protective guard includes a tubular member having first and second ends, an outer surface extending between the first and second ends, an inner surface extending between the first and second ends that defines an interior space, and a slot extending between the inner and outer surfaces and the first and second ends of the tubular member. The tubular member is secured over an upper edge of the fence so that the upper ends of the vertical posts and the at least one top support bar are captured within the interior space of the tubular member. In one embodiment, the combination also includes a spacer positioned between the inner surface of the tubular member and the at least one top support bar for supporting the tubular member between the vertical posts, and an insulation foam material disposed in the slot and the interior space of the tubular member for sealing the interior space of the tubular member and preventing insects, such as bees, or small animals from building nests in the tubular guard.
Frazier, U.S. Pat. No. 8,272,624, discloses a fence engageable weed barrier system which includes a fence that is mounted in and extends upwardly from a ground surface. The fence includes a fence section comprising at least one post and a dividing wall attached to and extending laterally away from the at least one post. Each of a plurality of primary barriers is positioned beneath the fence section and receives a bottom edge of the dividing wall to prevent weed growth beneath the fence section. Each of the primary barriers includes a base wall that has a top side a front edge and a back edge. A back wall is attached to and extends upwardly from the back edge. A front wall is attached to and extends upwardly from the front edge. A dividing wall receiving space is defined between the front and back walls and receives the bottom edge of the dividing wall.